Sunday, May 12, 2013

Issue #114 May 12th, 2013- Mythology in the Modern World

Mythology
101…

One of my students'
favorite units every year, is our study of Greek Mythology.The students love the stories and enjoy the
constant turmoil that the Greek gods, goddesses and heroes lived in.The stories are filled with intrigue,
treachery and drama.They also provide
many teaching opportunities as we read and analyze the myths.Along the way we also talk about different
aspects of human nature and think about what the myths tell us about their
culture and the times they lived in.

All of that got me
thinking about what our modern "mythology" is and what this says
about modern Wisconsin's
political, social and economic culture.Carrying this analogy a little further makes me wonder what people in
the future will think about us when they look at what was passed off as truth
by those "ancient Wisconsinites".Maybe our "myths" don't have the same storytelling aspects,
but we sure can tell some "whoppers" can't we?In fact it may be debatable as to whether our
society is producing mythology, or just extremely tall tales.

Educational
Mythology…

Almost every component of
our society has its own set of "myths".They have their own pantheon of characters as
well as recurring themes that appear frequently as the tales unfold.Education is one area that is a fertile
ground for our modern mythology.

One aspect of our modern
Mythology is a tried and true storyteller's strategy, repeat a key catch phrase
or idea enough so that it becomes part of the listener's reality.Education reformers have done this and
created the "reality" that our schools are not up to international
standards.

Myths rely on common
themes to support their "validity".For modern "mythologists" the themes of "freedom"
and "choice" are used frequently.For school "reformers" this means that the traditional public
schools in their neighborhoods have become the enemy of the values that make
our nation special.Unfortunately, this
message of "freedom" and "choice" is one that is very
marketable, and even our highest ranking officials (who many supporters of
public education voted for has fallen for the mythology of charters and
choice).

With mythology, there is
often enough potential truth that the stories can be accepted by the casual,
less informed consumer of any given myth.For example, it is feasible that the gods do cause natural disasters
because of their ongoing conflicts with other gods.In the same way it is possible that vouchers
would provide better educational opportunities and more equitable schooling for
some students.Yet, more careful
analysis and knowledge of our existing laws show a different story to be more
truthful.

Myths, legends and fables
become important ways for a society to promote values, highlight things that
are important to a culture, and to create a common sense of purpose (or to
identify a common foe).For these
reasons the modern mythology isn't a collection of harmless stories that make
for interesting conversation.They are
used as weapons to promote an agenda, divide the population and demonize
specific groups of people.

In the case of education
they promote privatization, standardized testing and the "de-professionalization"
of the jobs educators do in our society.

Modern myths use data to
drive their message, but often the sources of data are often questionable.It is also true that data can be manipulated
to support a specific viewpoint.We
can't forget that the people who are polled are frequently basing their
opinions on the existing mythology they have been told is accurate.Articles like the following one are a big
reason why the public perceives our schools as problems in society, not
solutions.

The language used by the
mythmakers resonates with what the public views as "common
sense".Take the idea of merit pay
for educators as an example.To those
outside of education, the idea of paying for performance sounds
reasonable.After all, if I'm the best
at my profession, I should get the best results, right?Yet, the world of education doesn't operate
in the same way that a business or industry does.The variables that are involved in the
education of students in public schools are nearly infinite and impossible to
control for.Thus it becomes virtually
impossible to identify those most deserving of the highest pay.

Educational success is the
result of collaborative efforts between professional educators, families and of
course the students.We rely on each
other in order to support, encourage and educate our students and no single
individual is solely responsible for the end "product". Basing individual educator pay on the results
of these efforts is unfair and unreasonable.

This is especially true
when standardized test results are used.While watching my students take a recent computerized standardized test,
I turned to another educator in the room and simply said, "Merit pay based
on this?" and we both smiled.At
the time one student had discovered how to select an answer using the keyboard
and was rapidly tapping out answers, several had their heads down, a few more
were watching a squirrel outside the window and another student kept asking me
how they figured out the scores and what scale was used.Then I looked over a students shoulder and
realized that they were trying to answer a question about "gerunds".How many of you knew what a gerund was when
you were 10?

After all of the myths are
generated, they are used to influence voters and the actions of our
politicians.Unfortunately, by the time
we realize we have been sold a myth disguised as truth, it may be too late.We find ourselves fighting an uphill battle
against foes with entrenched positions.

Of course, education isn't
the only place that myths are used for political purposes.We are seeing a concerted effort to create a
version of reality that is anti-labor in our state and nation.This mythology seeks to portray management as
the driving force in economic growth.It
portrays workers as villains who are parasites living off the efforts of the
"job creators".

The result of the
mythology is that the public believe that unions are anti-American,
anti-business and are anti-worker.None
of which are true, but a message that has been effectively delivered over
time.The anti-union rhetoric has been
used to support legislation and policies that have tilted the playing field in
favor of the employer.These policies
have also created more uncertainty in the labor market and have hurt the
economic recovery here in Wisconsin
significantly.

The mythology of labor is
mirrored in our more general political, economic and societal dialog.The use of language that appears to be
"common sense" and the use of misleading data forms the basis of the
recent rhetoric coming from the most conservative leaders.Yet, when looked at carefully we see that the
results of this agenda lead in directions far removed from what many of its
supporters seem to value.Economic
independence, honest, freedom and equality are cornerstones of the message, but
are eroded by the actual policies when implemented by conservatives.

We live in turbulent times
when it seems like most political interactions are confrontational and
antagonism is rampant in discussions around important issues.Too many are spending too much time trying to
defeat an opponent, and too few are spending time trying to promote positive
solutions to the problems we face.We
can try to blame Bush, or we can blame Obama, yet in the end the problems still
exist.

By putting so much
emphasis on blaming or winning we miss the point of why we debate issues.This isn't a forensics class, it is real life
and the conflicts that are occurring are having a detrimental effect on real
people.The constant conflict has eroded
public trust in the ability of our leaders to resolve problems in ways that
benefit the common person.Instead we
find ourselves divided into subgroups and special interests, fighting for
resources and power.

We see ourselves promoting
policies that may be inconsistent.This
allows for our opponents to point out the hypocrisy of our arguments, yet most
people fail to see their own contradictory positions.Thus we have people on both sides of the
political spectrum calling for use of identification and background checks,
while at the same time arguing against these same methods of controlling who
votes, who is a citizen or who owns a gun.Whether the arguments are logical or consistent isn't as important as
the fact that they can point to their oppositions double-standards.The constant, circular arguing leads us in a
perpetual, downward spiral that ends in a total breakdown of our society's
ability to resolve problems.

We find our leaders
painted into corners where they have to do what's expected of them, not because
it is the correct thing to do, but rather because it is required for them to
continue in their positions of power.Compromise is seen as weakness, and communication is done in short
sound-bites that convey a simple message.A message that doesn't help find solutions, but that instead often
further alienates opponents.In fact, in
the current situation we find ourselves in, there is a need to alienate others
and to create villains in order to solidify a power base.

In the end this lack of substantive discussion
and limited statesmanship puts us in danger of undermining the very ideals that
we claim to value so highly.The simple
reality is that most people in our society simply want to be able to live
peacefully and enjoy the opportunities that a successful republic can provide.In order to do that, we must regain control
of the direction that our nation is headed and to hold our leaders accountable
for the policies that are enacted.The
ancient Greeks saw themselves as relatively powerless in the face of the
actions of their mythological pantheon.We can't allow ourselves
to believe the same thing!